Honorable Mentions: Golden State Warriors, Utah Jazz, and Denver Nuggets
I cannot in good faith rule out the Golden State Warriors completely in winning the NBA title this season. Yes, it would require a lot of good luck and superstar guard Klay Thompson would have to bounce back from his ACL injury in record time, but it is possible.
At the end of the day, with everyone healthy, the Golden State Warriors have Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and D’Angelo Russell. That is an extremely formidable lineup and is not to be dismissed.
I don’t see Klay being healthy on time and it seems that the Russell signing was the consolation prize in losing an All-NBA performer in Durant to the Nets. I do not envision Russell being a long term piece for the Warriors, he is an All-Star with great trade value so expect the Warriors to make moves to help them get back in contention sooner rather than later.
The Utah Jazz has done everything right this offseason. They brought in point guard Mike Conley from the Memphis Grizzlies who automatically gives them an upgrade at the point guard position.
They signed shooter Bojan Bogdanovic who is going to slide right into the starting five alongside franchise shooting guard Donovan Mitchell and two times defensive player of the year Rudy Gobert. Not to mention the Jazz adding much-needed depth across the roster gives them a real chance at a deep playoff run.
While all of the above is great, I just can’t see them make a significant dent in the playoffs. They will be an excellent regular-season team and it wouldn’t shock me if they ended up with the 2nd or 3rd seed in the West but when it comes to the playoffs, it’s usually the team with the best player that advances. While Utah has some excellent talent, they just don’t have enough to see them to the NBA finals.
The Denver Nuggets didn’t do much this offseason. The biggest get for the Nuggets is getting their former lottery pick, Michael Porter Jr., back from injury. Porter has had a terrible run of injuries since college, however, the talent is there. If he comes back fully healthy he could show the rest of the league why pre-injury he was considered a contender for the number 1 overall pick.
While the Nuggets didn’t splurge on free agents they did extend guard Jamal Murray to a 5-year extension.
With Nikola Jokic, Murray, Gary Harris, Porter, Paul Millsap, and Will Barton on the roster, the Nuggets have a group of young players who will continue to grow and get better. While I don’t think that this season will be their year to make significant noise in the playoffs, they are a team on the up and will be a problem in years to come.